Alfred k sill



(No Model.)

A. N. SILL.

V V BLOITER. N o. 296,235. V Patented Apr. 1,1884.

UNITED STATES Parent @FFECE.

ALFRED N. SILL, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

'BLOTTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 296,285, dated April 1,1884.

Application filed April 14, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALFRED N. SILL, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Philadelphia, Pennsy1vania,have invented Improvernents inBlotters, of which the follow; ing is a specification.

My invention consists of an improved handled blotting-pad with aflexible blotting-surface, as more fully described hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective viewillustrating one form of my improved blotting pad and the manner ofusing the same 5 Fig. 2, a longitudinal section Figs. 3'and 4, enlargedsectional views of the spring-clamps, Fig. 3 showing a clamp open, andFig. showing the opposite clamp closed; Fig.5,alongitudinal section ofamodified form of blotter, and Fig. 6 a sectional view illustratinganother modification.

A is a curved spring-plate of sheet metal of suitable dimensions, and tothe concave back of this plate is secured with yielding connections, ashereinafter described, a handle, 13, whereby the blotter may beconveniently manipulated.

To the convex side of the plate are applied a series of sheets, D, ofblotting-paper, out to the proper size and placed one above the other toform the blotting-surface. These blottingsheets are held in place byspring-clamps E- one secured to each end of the plate Aas illustratedmore fully in the enlarged views, Figs. 3 and 4. Each end of the plate Ais bent backward to form a hook, a, with which engages the hooked end I)of the cla1np-plate, a portion, d, of the latter bearing against theedge of the plate A, and, being of spring sheet metal, it maintains thetwo hooks a b in proper engagement with each other. The clamping-platesE, thus hung to the plate A, can be adjusted to either the open positionshown in. Fig. 3, to allow the blotting-sheets to be put in place, or tothe closed position shown in Fig. 4, to retain the ends of the sheets,and the spring-clamps will be self-retaining, in either of thepositions, against accidental displacement. I prefer to make theclamping-plates of about the same width as the plates A, and I provideeach with a handle, f, to facilitate the opening and closing of theclamp, and for convenience I prefer to form this handle by striking orbending up a portion of the plate E itself, as illustrated in Fig. 1. Nojoints, pins, or other expensive fittings are required in hanging theplates E to the plate A, one plate being simply slipped laterally ontothe other in such a position that the hooks a lien gage with each other,this engagement of the hooks, in connection with the bearing on the endof the plate, being the only fastening required, so that the blotter canbe very economically constructed, and possesses the necessary qualitiesof strength and freedom from liability to get out of order.

As I have above stated, the handle B is connected to the elastic plate Awith a yielding connection, so that when the blotter is pressed downonto the surface to be blotted the springplate A is at liberty tostraighten itself out over the said surface, as shown in Fig. 1. Thisyielding connect-ion of the handle with the plate A may be provided atone or both ends of the handle. In the construction shown in Figs. 1 and2 the handle B is arch-shaped, and on each-end is formed aT-head,b,adapted to grooves a 0n the plate, formed by bending upsheet-metal strips secured to the plate. The lower ends of these groovesare open, to permit the insertion of the T-heads on the handlewhen thespring-plate is flattened out. The upper ends of the grooves or slotsare closed, and preferably provided with rubber pads h. If preferred thegrooves of may be formed by cutting a longitudinal slot in each end ofthe plate and bending the portion of 85 the metal out from the slot toform a guard, a, to protect the blotting-paper from the T-head on thehandle B, as shown in Fig. 5, in which the handle is of a somewhatdifierent form from that shown in Figs. 1 and 2; or, if desired, theslot for the T-head may be formed in a bent strip secured to the plateA, instead of in the plate A itself. I

Instead of forming T-heads on the handle adapted to grooves in or on theplate, a pro jection or pin, 1", on the plate may be adapted to anopening ineach end of the handle, as indicated in Fig. 6.

The handle may have a yielding connection with the plate at one end, theother being fixed; but I prefer to have both ends free.

By connecting the handle to the plate, as

described,the ends of the plate are unconfined, and it is at liberty toflatten out, as indicated in Fig. 1, when pressureis applied to thehandle, so that the rocking movement usually employed with blotters ofthis class is unnecessary.

Instead of using spring-clamps at each end of the plate A,a hook orpermanent clamp may be used at one end of the plate, in connection witha spring-clamp at the other; but I prefer the use of two spring-clamps.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination of the curved elastic plateA, carrying the blotting-surface, with a handle, B, having alongitudinally-yielding connection with said plate, whereby on pressingthe handle downward the plate A is at liberty to flatten out, as setforth.

2. The combination of an elastic plate, A, carrying theblotting-surface, and provided at one or each end with a-slot or groove,with a handle, B, having a T-head adapted to said slot or groove,substantially as described.

3. The combination of a handle and plate, A, with a blotting-surface,and spring-clamps at each end of the plate A, as specified.

4. The combination of a plate, A, having a hooked end, a, with aplate,E, having a hook, I), and bearing d, substantially as set forth.

5. Theeombination of a sheet-metal plate, A, having a hooked end, a,with the plate E, having a hook, b, and adapted to be applied to thehooked end of the plate A laterally, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

' ALFRED N. SILL.

WVitnesses:

HARRY L. ASHENFELTER, HUBERT HowsoN.

